My father ordered me to kill the emperor, but His Majesty bestowed a princess upon me instead.

When the old order from the Ever-Normal Granary was sent back to the capital, the emperor was reviewing a copy of his grain debt certificate. Five hundred shi had been repaid, and another five hundred shi remained. After examining the evidence of the grain loss measure, he asked only, "I clearly wrote that it could not be used for relief grain." "Why was it ultimately permitted?" Bai Zhi laid out the old order, which was very clear at the beginning. The grain loss measure was only used to estimate transport losses. It could not be stored in granaries, nor could it be released from granaries. It could not be used for military purposes, nor for relief. Violators would be punished for grain embezzlement. The following part was also very clear. If a local area encountered an emergency, it could be used expediently. The Ever-Normal Granary was to be notified afterward—the last four words. The expedient use opened a door to all the previous "prohibitions."

Feng happy was not the only one who continued to work after his death. Zhao Qi and Wei Zhi are also listed in the old records of the Northern Inner Gate.

The Emperor said, "Acting expediently is the norm." "The grain is on its way in times of emergency." "We can't wait for approval from the capital." "We can use it first." I asked, "For how long?" The Emperor didn't answer. "When will the report arrive?" "After the emergency." "When will it be completed?" "Reported by the local authorities." "What if the local authorities don't report?" The Emperor looked at the Minister of the Ever-Normal Granary, who knelt down. "We'll urge them as usual." "How many times have we urged them?" "We're checking the old records." "In the past eleven years." "Did Qingfeng report it?" "It was reported in the accounts." "Which page?" The old records arrived; Qingfeng had a record of the annual grain consumption. The content was almost identical.

All three were once real people, and all have either died or lost their original positions, yet their names have not been forgotten. A place has been reserved for emergency routes, pharmacies, access control, and carriages; when needed, someone picks up the corresponding token and continues to act under the old name. The reasons are all quite plausible: Zhao Qi was familiar with medicine, and later generations used his old prescription names to avoid having to re-record them each time.

Wei Zhi, familiar with the Emperor's presence, kept the old broken plaque for easy communication during his illness. Feng happy, skilled in urgent transport at the North Gate, still used "Feng Xi's plaque" to dispatch carriages after the dead, to avoid delays due to last-minute changes in personnel. Each instance, taken individually, was merely for convenience. But put together, they formed a road that didn't need the names of the living. What's more troublesome is that these deceased individuals recognized each other.

The disaster was not over, and the road damage was difficult to assess. The waste measuring cups were temporarily kept for review next year. Year after year, eleven sheets of paper were left. Eleven stamps from the Ever-Normal Granary, all the procedures were complete. The problem was the verifier, who was named Feng Xi every year. He served as an external verification clerk in the Ever-Normal Granary in the thirteenth year of Chengxi. He died of illness in the fourteenth year of Chengxi, eleven years after his death. He was still verifying waste measuring cups for seventeen granaries. A-Liu saw his name. "Young Master." "Hmm." "The dead man has found a new job." "Has his salary been paid?" Bai Zhi was already checking. "It has." Feng happy received three taels a month, not from the Ever-Normal Granary, but from the "external verification meal allowance" of the Changning Palace granary.

Feng Xi could get the carriage out of the North Inner Gate, Zhao Qi's old medical seal could explain the illness, and Wei Zhi's broken plaque could send the "sick words" into the imperial process. Putting these three things together, even if the real Feng Xi, Zhao Qi, and Wei Zhi were no longer around, they could still create a complete "accidental illness" story. No one involved had to tell a particularly big lie.

Everyone just needs to believe that the previous paragraph has already been verified by someone.

A black car was parked at the North Inner Gate. The sign said it was for emergency use in Changning, but in recent years it had repeatedly gone to Jing'an Hospital. There was also a cut-out medical record of Liu Shen in the axle compartment: the original text was "seriously ill and not suitable for movement", but after cutting out the words "not suitable", it became "seriously ill and not suitable for movement". No one would need to forge Liu Shen's handwriting.

The corpse was faceless, but Wei Zhi identified its clothing. From then on, Feng Xi was not dismissed. Only the position remained, with people constantly changing hands. When someone died, everyone who took over the verification of the grain measure used the same name. The Minister of the Imperial Granary said, "I believe Feng Xi is an official title before the Emperor." The Emperor asked, "Who approved it?" "The old precedent is as follows." "Which precedent?" No one could immediately find it; the most common answer in the palace was "the old precedent." So old that no one remembered who set it, so precedent that everyone felt it didn't need to be written. Bai Zhi picked out three pages from the eleventh year's verification sheets. In the seventeenth year of Chengxi, Feng Xi wrote with his right hand. In the twentieth year of Chengxi, Feng happy wrote with his left hand.

Simply remove two words, and after reading them, the emperor's expression grew increasingly grim.

This year, Feng happy's hand trembled when he wrote. There were at least three people, yet the seals were identical. It wasn't a private seal, but a wooden stamp from outside the Changning Palace granary. The stamp had no name, only the character "Xi" (喜). Below "Xi" was a small grain measure. "Feng Xi isn't a single person," I said. "nor is he an official." "He's the one who can keep the grain measure intact." The emperor asked, "What have you checked over the years?" "Seventeen granaries," Bai Zhi said. "Each one was allowed to continue." "The reason?" "The disasters haven't stopped." "Eleven years count as disasters?" "As long as there's one disaster each year." "Then you can write that the disasters throughout the land haven't stopped." This makes a lot of sense.

"Who authorized the retention of these old positions?"

Pei Shen presented the old precedent, which was initially only temporary: if the person in charge died and the procedure had not yet been revised, the original name could be used temporarily for thirty days, during which time the real name would be added. In later copies, the thirty-day period was removed. Still later, the "real name must be added" clause was also removed, leaving only "the original name will still be used." The emperor himself wrote "Approved" in the margin of one of the versions.

This only makes sense when others are starving. The emperor ordered the original draft from the thirteenth year of the Chengxi reign to be retrieved. The draft from the Secretariat differed from the final promulgated version. The draft stated: If a region encounters an emergency, it may use the grain preferentially. The Ever-Normal Granary Office must be notified within three days, and the grain measure must be replaced within ten days. In the final promulgated version, neither "within three days" nor "within ten days" is present; it wasn't scraped off. It was simply not copied during the transcription process, and the emperor stamped the copy.

"Who copied it?" The old records in the Secretariat state: Chen Ping. "Who reviewed it?" Wei Zhi. "Who delivered the seal?" Feng Xi—three names. Each one was examined; the emperor looked at his old imperial seal. "I haven't seen the draft?"

He can read.

The senior official of the Secretariat said, "According to custom." "Your Majesty, please look at the copy." "The draft was kept by the Secretariat." "Therefore, I signed the one with no time limit." "Yes." The Emperor didn't admit he'd been deceived; he truly hadn't seen the draft. He had indeed personally signed the last page. The responsibility couldn't be entirely placed on the scribe; if his mother were alive, she would ask: Why did you only look at the last page? The Emperor himself said first, "This note is for my records." "The differences between the copy and the draft haven't been verified." "I'm keeping it for convenient use with no time limit." After Bai Zhi finished writing, she asked again, "Should it be abolished now?" "Abolish," the Emperor said, looking at him. "Only four words, 'abolished'?"

"What I approved at the time was a transitional measure."

"It has been eleven years now," Bai Zhi said.

"The entire order is scrapped." "What about in case of an emergency?" "A temporary order will be written." The emperor had clearly learned not to close a loophole just to shut it down. For genuine emergencies, the grain supply will be suspended, and a new order will be drafted that same day. Non-standard measuring tools may be used temporarily in local emergencies. This is only applicable when there are no standard measuring tools available, and must be verified by weight or standard volume. Reports must be submitted within three days, and replacements within ten days. If use continues beyond ten days, the decision-maker must re-sign each day. The first day's emergency cannot be used to stamp the eleventh year's order. The emperor's signature will be on the draft and the copy side-by-side in the Secretariat. No more sending only the last page; this will be added later. The investigation into the seventeen granary grain depletion case continues; the Changning Palace granary is ranked fourth.

The emperor stared at the single word "permitted" for a long time before finally saying, "Write my name down too." That very day, Zhao Qi's old medical seal, Wei Zhi's broken plaque, and Feng Xi's medical token were all suspended and automatically became effective. They weren't burned upon sight; rather, they could only serve as old credentials from then on, and could no longer be used to open doors, dispatch vehicles, or collect medicine. The new rules weren't even written down in a long document.

Write down who's on duty, and who's temporarily filling in, including who they're replacing, for how long, and what they can do. We can learn from the experiences of the dead, but we can't let the names of the dead continue to be on duty. After listening, Ah Liu asked, "What if there's a real emergency? Is there no time to write all this?" Bai Zhi replied, "Write down the names of the living first."

"Just write the name?" "At least it's faster than a dead person."

The official in charge of the imperial treasury said, "According to tradition, the emperor was originally moved from the Empress Dowager's palace to Changning to recuperate." "When was this decided?" "When the late Empress Dowager was ill." This brings us back to those three days. The purpose of transporting provisions for an emergency wasn't about the amount consumed, but about the transfer of the emperor. A plan was in place: provisions, carriages, gates, physicians, and eunuchs. Preparations were made every five days according to tradition, so that if someone reported the emperor's sudden illness, the entire process could begin immediately. Bai Zhi flipped to the most recent record from this year. Three days ago, Feng Xi had already received two dou (a unit of dry measure). Purpose: for an emergency at the emperor's palace, as a backup. The time for receiving the provisions was before our return to the capital. At that time, the emperor was still in Yong'an, not in the palace.

The Emperor actually nodded. Just then, the emergency bell rang at Changning Palace. The sound carried all the way to the North Inner Gate, and everyone stopped. The Emperor himself was standing before us, awake, able to walk and speak. But someone from Changning Palace had already sent an urgent report to the four gates: His Majesty has fainted.

The emergency provisions were taken first, and I asked, "Where is the provisions?" The treasury official replied, "Northern Inner Gate." "Who received them?" "Feng Xi." "Is there such a person at the Northern Inner Gate?" No one could answer; it was the fake grain measure He Xiu had mentioned. Stealing one liter a day, Feng Xi was on this deadly grain route. Taking only two dou every five days wasn't a big deal. But the accounts wouldn't just record silver and grain; they would also include a procedure that shouldn't exist. They kept him fed, the emperor looked at the supply records. "Investigate the Northern Inner Gate," I said, "Don't just investigate the person yet." "Investigate these two dou of grain." "Where could the grain have gone?" "Then prepare to move the person there."